Expressions in Comedy

[monotone_ink]

This is just an issue that popped up with the creation of my new comic, Joseph The Horse

The original idea was that the utter expressionlessness of the characters would make comedic, absurd scenarios seem funnier either due to their indifference or how ironically unfitting they can be in context.

I'm having second thoguht though, as I feel that it may undermine some scenarios and actually make them seem less funny. I've tried putting mouths on these characters, but I feel that it seems 'out of character', if you catch my drift.

Though going to the extremes of both sides is bad in anything in life, there are a few comics that lean on either side of 'lots of expression', and 'deadpan expression', and still manage to be funny.

e.g. Lots of expression:

Barely any expression:

What are your opinions on this? I know this topic is a bit silly, but I think it can help in a few ways.

[Rueleer]

Ahhh, comedy is such a fickle beast. \D

I'll start with regards to your comic. I do understand what you were going for with 'expressionless' characters vs absurd situations, but one thing instantly popped into mind.

Have you ever heard of the Japanese style of comedy called 'Manzai'? It's a rather popular form of stand-up comedy. Though I know little in detail of it, there's a very important aspect that defines Manzai; a straight man (tsukkomi) and a funny man (boke).

Basically, what makes Manzai work is that while the boke is usually the absurd one who makes the jokes, it's the rationality of the tsukkomi that really makes the outrageousness of the boke stand out.

We can relate to the tsukkomi, because they are supposed to be more like us; normal, logical, sensible human beings. (or something like that \D) And so when we see the tsukkomi get frustrated with the boke, while the boke seems to be completely ignorant of his absurdity, we laugh.

Basically, when all the characters are deadpan, like they are in your comic, it almost feels like the absurdity is natural. That this is what is meant to happen in their world, and if that is so, we don't know how to feel because we don't know how to relate.

But when there's someone there, anyone, who does have expression, who does react in a way us readers may, we sudden remember, "Oh, you're right! This is quite silly! Haha!"

I've rambled on too much (and I'm not sure how coherent my thoughts are X"D), but essentially, I believe you could benefit from introducing a bit of 'rational reaction' into your comic, so that the absurdity of the situation can be greater amplified.

Like the whole "If there is no light, there is no darkness" kinda deal, but less dramatic, ya know? :'D

[heraclus]

hmm interesting topic , i think expressions aren't so important when your writting is good...thats my opion anyway
BUT i love manga expressions , they are so funny .

[monotone_ink]

Ah yes, I'm quite familiar with Manzai (i watch way too much anime).
I was kind of afraid of making Joseph a sort of rational figure as he might not fit in with the other characters, but now that I think about it, having him stand out could actually be humorous. Maybe I was scared of overdoing the manzai thing as it so often is in Japanese media.

I'll experiment with adding more 'logic' in the comic, thanks for the info!

[Rueleer]

Not at all~ :'D I'm happy to be of any help! X'D

Good luck with your comic!

[KoreanTacos]

honestly if there isn't expression it makes it difficult to reflect an emotion onto the reader. If an expressionless character is insulted, but looks mute then it looks like the character doesn't care so why should I care too? As for your examples you put in, the Gamercat works because there's emotions of melancholy, understanding, anger, and fear. I know that even without prior information that the two kittens are having issues with not getting something they want, and that the girl cat wants to comfort the little ones and instantly feels betrayed when her phone is taken. In the second example there's no real feeling for concern or consequence, hence I don't care either and the comic just isn't humorous in anyway. Often hear this, but good comedy is unexpected or the pain of someone else. With emotionless blob I don't actually care whats going on because he doesn't either. People say that art determines the reality of a comic, I think differently, if there's no human aspect in a comic then I don't feel the need to invest in a particular comic. If the creator doesn't take the time to make their comics real then the reader can view the work as an emotionless nothing. Perhaps if the writing is that good you can work comedy without emotions, but my personal feelings is that emotions are a key factor in any genre.

[Zazorealbiz]

I am sorry but it kind of lacks humor. Humor works in funny ways. To properly learn it you have to read a lot of comedy. One punch man manga first chapter is a example of serious humor. where the main protagonist Saitama kills everything with one blow. Then he cries out in anger "not again" At that moment you already know he is the one punch man and he wants a fight to last longer. So we laugh at his silly cry. you get 4th wall break humor. self aware humor(like 4th wall, only the characters are not interacting with the audience but, instead knowing they are inside a comicbook.)

Humor is most effectively used after building tension. Example straight out of my comic book I AM MAIN. One character destroys an area and turns it into rubble and upon looking at the destruction he says: "OOPS I hope I don't have to pay damages." You can throw in a funny face along with good compelling text and you get humor. You need to try and catch people off guard.

Hope this helps.

[Mocha]

Ehh well this is kind of a tricky question since humour is an extremely subjective beastie...
I personally think that the key to expression based humour is to find a sort of balance between the lack of expression and exaggerated expressions.
Two series that I think handle this pretty well are Osomatsu-san and Nichijou. I would suggest maybe looking up some screenshots or funny scenes from them to get an idea of what I'm talking about since I'm not sure if I'm explaining this well enough.
Hope this helps!